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Google may be the dominant search engine in much of the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. To the contrary: there are plenty of examples which indicate that Google struggles to detect even the most unsophisticated web spam, and as a result is driving its users to sites that they’d probably rather not go.

Increasingly, Google’s flaws in this area are attracting attention. While it’s not yet clear if the attention is a reflection of the fact that consumers are finding that Google’s results aren’t meeting expectations or an indication that Google’s glow has simply worn off, it is clear that Google has a lot to lose if it doesn’t pay attention to web spam.

On the internet, few companies receive more attention than Google. And for good reason: Google touches so many individuals and businesses. From search to its ‘side projects’, just about everything Google does creates interest.

Google’s prominence, not surprisingly, has led to the creation of many myths. Here are my top five.

While Google and other search engines are pretty good at identifying original sources and widespread acceptance of the canonical tag should eventually help, for online publishers who syndicate prolifically, dealing with duplicate content issues can be a challenge.